


Lady In Red

by RedKitsune



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Awesome Clint Barton, Clint Barton Feels, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Clint Barton-centric, Clubbing, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Dancing, F/M, Falling In Love, Marriage Proposal, dinner date, looking back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 06:52:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18935677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedKitsune/pseuds/RedKitsune
Summary: Clint Barton sits on his bed, thinking back on the woman who had captured his heart. She was his Lady in Red and he hoped that she always would be. Now, two years after the day he first tried to capture her heart in a crowded club he was ready to ask her to be his always.





	Lady In Red

**Author's Note:**

> Ever decide to participate in a challenge hosted by a writer you adore and admire and wanna grow up to be just like? (I know I’m already a adult) Then you stop and think and it hits you like a sack of bricks that you’re going to shove your writing in their face by doing so and you just: “What the fuck did I just agree to do?” Cuz that’s what this is. 
> 
> Below is my offering for @tilltheendwilliwrite‘s 6k followers challenge. You’re awesome! 
> 
> The sing itself is The Lady in Red by chris de burgh

Clint sat on the edge of his unmade bed as he buttoned his shirt. The room was dim, lit only by a small lamp and the city lights shining through the uncovered window. It was just after seven and he really needed to get going but the nerves gathered in the pit of his stomach made it hard to get the motivation to get up no matter how badly he wanted to rush out the door. Still, his leg bounced up and down as he worked the last button through the slot.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, he did. It was just that he was more terrified of what they night would bring than he had ever been of anything in his life. Facing down death was less frightening. On the dresser across from him was a little black box that held every hope and dream that he hadn’t let himself dare to ask for before he met her.

Deciding to forgo the tie in favor of not feeling like he was an actual hanged man, Clint slipped the little black box into his jacket pocket as he gave himself one last look over in the mirror. His dirty blonde hair couldn’t be tamed and for once he had only a few bruises darkening the skin.

The radio in the living room was playing softly but it brought a smile when the song switched and words that he long ago began to identify with her filled the air. It was their song, though he wasn’t sure if he had ever told her that.

For Clint, it wasn’t love at first sight when he saw her in the crowded club. She was just another attractive women, like so many others. But she didn’t throw herself at the team or him. In all honesty, she was rather indifferent to them each night. He, like many of the men there noticed her but paid her little mind as she slipped to the sidelines where she was quickly forgotten. The men that did seek her out were swiftly turned down.

But one night it was different. One night, she came through the doors wearing a red dress that clung to her in all the right ways. Her dark hair was curled loosely and she had a look about her he couldn’t begin to name. No longer was she just another attractive woman among a sea of them. This night, she was the prized gem and all wanted her.

_I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight_  
I've never seen you shine so bright  
I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance  
They're looking for a little romance, given half a chance  
And I have never seen that dress you're wearing  
Or the highlights in your hair that catch your eyes  
I have been blind  
It was that instant he wanted her. Still he had to battle for her attention against a sea of men. He had expected that she would just fall into his arms as so many women did when he made it clear that he wanted them but she did not. With a smile and a bat of her eyelashes, she danced with another man and only gave him a passing glance. And another man. She never stayed with the same man for longer than a dance and eventually it was his turn and he found that she fit perfectly in his arms.

“What’s your name?” He had to ask twice, the first time his words were lost to the sound of the music around them.

“Do you care?” She didn’t sound bitter or accusatory. Rather she sounded as if she were simply stating the fact that he did not. In truth, he supposed few of the men here she had danced with cared about anything more than getting her home and out of her dress.

“I do.” The admission threw her, he could see it in the way her dancing faltered.

“Andrea.”

“Clint.”

* * *

All she gave him was her name. Sure, he could have hunted her down, looked her up and made use of the considerable resources at his fingertips but if knowing he was Clint of the Avengers wasn't enough to get him her phone number he would have to earn it.

It was almost three weeks before he saw her again. This time her brown hair was pulled back in a messy braid. The dress she wore was black with shimmering red flowers.

Much like the last time he had seen her, all eyes seemed magnetized to her. She was a force moving on the dance floor. Men offered her drinks and dances only to be brushed aside while Clint made his way over to her.

He couldn't understand why before she never shined so bright. Before she was simply another body in the crowd. Now she seemed to be the only body he saw in the crowd.

“I've seen you in red twice in a row.” Clint's opening like could probably use some work but unlike the others, she smiled at him.

“I haven't been here twice in a row.” She countered knowing full well that the last time she was in this club she indeed had worn red.

“What's your favorite color?” Clint asked as he softly let his hands rest on her hips. The song had changed to something slower, more intimate and he fully intended to take advantage if she allowed him. It was encouraging when she draped her arms over his shoulders, lacing her fingers together loosely behind his neck.

“Guess.” They swayed and he could smell to soft scent of her perfume.

“Purple?” He couldn't help the puppy dog look on his face though he didn't even begin to hope he was right.

“Hmm” she stalled. “Nope.”

“Oh right, that one's mine. How about red?”

“Bingo.”

* * *

 

_The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek_  
There's nobody here, it's just you and me  
It's where I want to be  
But I hardly know this beauty by my side  
I'll never forget the way you look tonight  
I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight

* * *

For nearly three months he asked her to dinner every chance he got. For nearly three months she turned him down with a smile as they moved together on the dance floor. Still, as they danced nearly every week, he would learn more and more of her.

Her heart had been broken by a man she trusted. Her light had been dimmed by a man who wished to hide her from the world. The idea baffled him. If he could call her his even for a short time he would never hide her light. He would give anything to be the man by the side of a woman who shinned brighter than any star.

When his eyes landed on her, he knew this time would be different. She smiled at warmly at him when their eyes locked across the dance floor. All eyes were on her as she walked over, hips swaying seductively. Today was different, Clint knew it.

Her hair was hanging freely. The long smooth strands fell down her back tonight but he hardly noticed. Sparkling under the lights, her dress was a deep plum color with a large light purple flower on her hip. The grin that slowly spread over his face as he watched her wearing his color.

“Clint.” He had grown to love the way she said his name.

“Dinner tomorrow?” Without wasting any time, his hand found her waist and they began to sway with the music.

“How about breakfast?” She counted and he laughed.

“I like how you think.”

* * *

_I've never seen you shine so bright, you were amazing_  
I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side  
And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away  
And I have never had such a feeling

* * *

With one last look behind him, Clint turned off the lights in his apartment and shut the door. She was going to be meeting him at the restaurant. As he made his way down the stairs, he kicked himself for not thinking about getting a car to pick her up in. Tony would surely have loaned him on or he could have gotten a limo.

In truth, he knew that if he pulled out all the stops she would know. The little velvet box was burning a hole in his jacket pocket as he slowly walked down the stairs. His stomach was in knots and he wanted nothing more than to vomit. The thought to turn around, run up the stairs and hide out in his apartment circled through his mind.

Still, he didn’t doubt his choice. He wanted her. He needed her. She was everything he had ever dreamed of, everything he knew he didn’t deserve and somehow he got to call her his. If he was lucky, truly lucky she would allow him to call her his for the rest of their lives.

* * *

 

_Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight_  
The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek  
There's nobody here, it's just you and me  
It's where I want to be

* * *

When he walked into the restaurant she was already sitting at a table. It didn’t surprise him at all, though they did plan on meeting out front. Things in his life never went according to plan. Things with her never went according to plan either.

Perhaps that's why she fit so perfectly in his hectic life without even batting an eyelash. From the speakers above them, he could hear that fateful song playing. It seemed that the song was meant for them. It seemed to follow him wherever he went when she was on his mind.

_But I hardly know this beauty by my side_

Standing in the restaurant, he look her in. There was once a time when he didn’t know her, when she wasn’t a part of his life. He couldn’t imagine his life before her. It was as if he had just been waiting for her to show up and not be impressed by him.

With her hair half pulled back, Clint could see the glitter of the ruby earrings he had gotten her a few months prior for her birthday. Red, her favorite color was quickly becoming his as well though he would never tell her that. Her took a moment to take her in. She was just as beautiful now as she was the day she had first grabbed his attention nearly two years ago.

He pledged to never put out the fire within her. Even now he couldn’t fathom a man wanting to hide her away, to cover the radiance that was her. How selfish of a man that must have been? But that man’s choice to seek out another, to cheat on this beautiful woman set her free and for that Clint would always be thankful for.

Slipping his hand one last time into his jacket pocket, he grabbed the box. Carefully, he opened it and ran his thumb over the ring hidden inside. Once he had reassured himself that he had the box and that the ring was indeed inside, he took a deep breath and walked up to the table.

_I'll never forget the way you look tonight  
I never will forget the way you look tonight_

He was distracted all dinner and she worried. He could see the worry in her eyes. While she had put up seductive front all those months and months ago, she had once confided in him that she felt not good enough for him. What had been done to her before caused her to fear it would happen again. He hadn’t been nearly as spectacular as Clint was and he found her to be not good enough. Why would Clint find her good enough for him?

Yet he asked himself the same thing. He was a disaster of a man. More often than not he returned from missions injured or damaged in some way. She worried for him and he hated that. But it felt good to know there was someone waiting for him to come back, someone who would notice if he didn’t make it out. He had someone at home waiting for him, who would miss him and remember him if he died. Who would mourn him and that gave him something more to live for.   
_The lady in red, the lady in red_  
As the waiter cleared away the plates, Clint took a deep breath. Looking around, he tried to gauge how many people would realize what he was doing. One more deep breath and he stood from his seat.

“Clint?” She asked and he just smiled at her. It was a nervous smile and if not for him walking around the table toward her, it would have done nothing to reassure her.

“Babe.” He plucked her hand up as he knelt down in front of her. Turning in her chair, cringing as it loudly scraped against the hard floor. She watched with wide eyes as he pulled a small black box out of his jacket pocket only to drop it. “Shit.”

“Breath, Clint.” A laugh slipped out from between her lips as she looked around. “And get up, people are looking. We can afford dessert, stop playing.”

“I’m not.” Shaking hands let go of hers and fumbled picking the box up off the ground. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me. You put me in my place, tell me ‘no’ and lecture me. You’ve seen me at my worst.”

“Everyone who has a TV has.” She joked but her voice was tight with emotion.

“No, that’s not my worst.” He laughed and relaxed just slightly. “My worst is dishes piled in the sink, living off pizza for a few weeks, burning a pot of popcorn. My worst is having to wash my underwear in the sink because I miscalculated how long I could put off doing laundry.”

“You’re probably due for a load.”

“Probably.” Whatever had relaxed in him wound back up. “You’re my lady in red. You’ll always be my lady in red. It took me far too long to notice you but once you caught my eye I could never take my eyes off you. I got lucky that another man tossed you away. That is one of the few mistakes I swear to you I’ll never make.”

_The lady in red,_

_“_ You’ll always be my lady in red. But right now I’m asking if you’ll be my lady in white. Will you marry me?”

As he asked the one question he had been most terrified to ask, he opened the box revealing the ring inside. He had tried for months to find one that would be perfect before finally working with a jeweler to custom make a ring.

At first glance it looked simple. A large red ruby was set with two small amethyst flanking it on either side. Knowing she didn’t like jewelry that scratched her, the band was raised smoothly to hug the edges of the stones. On the sides, swirls of white gold filled the open space.

_my lady in red  
I love you_

She slipped out of her chair, landing on her knees as she launched herself at him. The ring was knocked out of his hand as she crashed into his chest, arms winding around his neck as she kissed him. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she pulled away, trying to remember to breath. Around them, strangers cheered and clapped but the couple didn’t hear them.

“Is that a ‘yes’?” Clint asked as his arms wrapped around her waist.

“Yes, you dummy.”


End file.
